DiffRobotics

DiffRobotics (微分智飞, Weifen Zhifei) is a Hangzhou-based startup working on "embodied flight" — building a general-purpose embodied-AI "brain" for aerial robots. It was founded by Fei Gao, a tenured associate professor and PhD advisor at Zhejiang University's College of Control Science, a frequent *Science Robotics* cover author whom 5Y Capital describes as "one of the most influential scholars in the field" .

The company has moved through funding quickly: tens of millions of RMB in angel and angel+ rounds within a single month in mid-2025 (co-led by 5Y Capital and Shoucheng Capital, with Lightspeed leading the angel+), Pre-A and Pre-A+ rounds by September 2025, a Series A1 in the hundreds of millions of RMB around April 2026, and most recently an A2 round of hundreds of millions of RMB led by Puhua Capital with HLC and the Yangtze Delta Digital Culture Fund participating, plus follow-ons from existing backers including 5Y, Shenzhen Capital Group, and BV Baidu Ventures . The A1 funds were earmarked for accelerating R&D and commercialization of its flight embodied-intelligence technology .